Gainesville’s Pride celebration will include three new events this weekend, along with the annual parade and festival Saturday that draws thousands to University Avenue.
The celebration will include a pub crawl, an ‘80s themed dance and a Sunday brunch, said Terry Fleming, co-president of North Central Florida’s Pride Community Center.
“It’s about providing a bigger experience for visitors from outside of Gainesville,” Fleming said. “We’re trying to recognize that folks want different options.”
Friday’s “Girls Just Want to Have Fun” Womyn’s Dance is open to all self-identified women. Tickets are $25, and the 9 p.m. dance will be held at the Hippodrome State Theatre.
The Pride Pub Crawl starts Friday at 9 p.m. Participants can pay $20 for a variety of food and drink specials starting at The Jones B-Side and ending at University Club.
The parade will start at noon Saturday, and Democratic National Committee chairwoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz will serve as its grand marshal. The free festival begins at 1 p.m. that day.
UF Pride Student Union internal vice president Damian Gonzalez said his organization will walk in the parade and participate at the festival.
“We want a community that’s inclusive,” the 20-year-old UF political science and journalism junior said, “and this is able to give that to them.”
[A version of this story ran on page 1 on 10/24/2014]
